The Magical Herd

Having mostly recovered, though still a bit shaky, you decide to follow the river a ways. It wasn't long before you met the green stand proudly strutting on along the water's edge. You watched for a bit, but couldn't make why he was doing so.

When you step forward he stops to look at you. "Human?" he asks, "What are you doing here." He was somewhat agressive and not all that please to know he wasn't alone, or so it seemed to you. You decide that telling him as much as you could about your travels here might settle him a bit.

"Neero, why have you stopped?"

Startled you look up to see a mare in the air over the river. She couldn't see you standing under the trees, but you could just make out her golden form.

He looks up. "I've found a human in our jungle Calisto." The mare landed to see for herself. "It's true!" She exclaims. "Trilla, you have to see this. They really do look funny walking on only two legs."

Trilla turned out to be another winged mare. You noted she had paws instead of forehooves though. Nothing in the place was quite what you would expect it to be.

"How very odd indeed...I wonder if it can talk. I've heard they're not very intelligent."

"It talks...a lot too."

"Could we keep it as a pet? I wonder what it eats?"

You make a quick exit while they're discussing what to do with you. You were pretty sure you didn't want to be trained to fetch sticks and beg for snacks.

It was as you pushed deeper into the jungle, away from the river, that you met him. The dark one. The one that made your skin crawl as he passed in shadow.

You barely even saw him, so dark he was. Slim, sleek with an aura of midnight surrounding him, he moved silently through the jungle. Menacing eyes glanced at you as silver hooves flicked upon the ground. Terrible horns rose from the sparkling depth of his night-sky mane.

And then he was gone, and for that you were thankful. You would not have wanted the experience to have lasted a moment longer.